A Dish Best Served Cold
by FettsVett
Summary: After a close call with the Sarlacc Pit Boba Fett is approached by a young girl asking him to help avenge her father. At first he is reluctant, but the means in which her father was killed and the amount of money she is offering compels him to accept. But this girl, both naively innocent and infuriatingly stubborn, proves to be his biggest challenge yet.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

The cantina Jessa entered was seedy, scattered with degenerates and vagabonds. Smoke filled the air, bad music was being played by a mediocre band, and drunken men and loose women were lounging over piss smelling furniture. She pressed the data pad she had clutched in her hands closer to her body, her knuckles turning white as she squeezed. She felt perhaps more vulnerable than she truly was, for this was a cantina filled with criminals of the imbecilic and feeble minded nature, beating and stealing what was in front of them, but unable to make the simplest observations.

She pushed through the crowed, hardly able to approach the bar without hands from all angles reaching out to fondle her. She would have shoved them away, but due to the data pad in her hands, could only walk faster and out of their grips. When she got to the bar the attendant looked at her long and hard, as if she had no right to be in his place of business. She would have made a snide remark if her mission was no so important. Nothing could come in between her and her goal and this night, at this cantina, was her only opportunity.

"Can I get you something?"

"I've heard there is a Mr. Boba Fett here tonight?" she asked, her naturally soft voice difficult to hear over the loud music and drunken laugher.

"He is, but he don't like to be disturbed," the man told her.

"I'll risk it," she answered and the barkeep silently pointed to a dark corner, where an unnerving looking man sat, a drink in his hand, a sour look on his face, and an arm around a pretty young alien girl. She swallowed hard, nodded to herself in encouragement, and walked toward him. She hugged the data pad close to her body as she walked, her arms wrapping around herself in a hug type state.

She had heard many stories about the infamous bounty hunter, and she knew if anyone was right for the job, it was him. She also knew however that he took big jobs, contract jobs, jobs that paid a lot of money. That was why her entire life savings, her inheritance, and all the money she could get from her the selling of her home and possessions was on the data pad in front of her. Credits were credits, and she hoped that he would take this one private case from a nobody from Tatooine, if it meant hitting pay dirt.

When she came to stand in front of him, he looked up slowly, his dark eyes landing on hers with frightening distaste and obvious annoyance. She swallowed hard and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. The alien girl scowled at her, clearly threatened by the newcomer. Most human men preferred their own species, and despite the look she was receiving from him now, for her motives were obviously not seduction, she was sure he would trade her for the alien girl in a heartbeat.

"I am not interested," he spoke, his voice deep and raspy. She nodded, snapped out of her daze and shifted the data pad in her hands.

"I have money," she rushed out, lifting the data pad up slightly in her hands.

"Not enough I am sure," he replied, his lips twisting into a sour half smile.

"More than enough," she countered and his look turned more neutral. He looked at her a moment, his eyes searching her for deception, and then down to the data pad. Just when she thought he was going to send her away he jerked his head at the alien girl, lifting his arm from her.

"Leave," he said and the alien girl looked at Jessa as if he had spoken the words to her, smiling triumphantly. It was only when Fett turned on her and spoke "I said _leave_" that she huffed off to the dance floor.

"You have thirty seconds," he replied and Jessa nodded again.

"I want you to kill someone for me," she hurried out, her voice a rush of air.

"I'm not an assassin," he replied.

"But you are a bounty hunter," she said and sat down by his boots, which were up on the table in front of him. "And you bring people to people who kill them right? I just can't do the killing."

"And what would you what someone killed for?"

"Does it matter?" she asked. "I have credits."

"You can't afford me, sweetheart," he said dismissively. She looked down to her data pad, frantically touching buttons. She held it out to him, and he glanced at it, his expression not changing.

"It's all yours if you do this for me," she said. She watched his jaw clench as he ground his back molars together.

"It's good money?" he asked and she nodded.

"I wouldn't know how to cheat the system," she replied and he nodded, believing her. He paused a moment to consider it. She was not the typical type of person that approached him for his services, and although he rarely worked for anyone of such little importance, the fee was substantial.

"Is the person dangerous?"

"Not to someone like you," she replied. He would have smiled if there was not a dark undertone to her words. He motioned with his fingers for the data pad and she handed it to him.

"How did you come by such a fortune? Will I have some spice trader coming after me for his money if I accept this?"

"I inherited all. It's everything I have in the galaxy."

"And you'd give it all up for one man?" he asked and looked her over. "You aren't a businesswoman. Whatever this is its personal."

"He needs to pay," she said simply.

"I don't do personal vendettas," he said and handed her the data pad back. She felt despair threaten to overtake her as he stood and moved to walk away. She grabbed onto his outer tunic, causing a gasp to come from a bystander who had been watching them. _No one _touched Boba Fett and lived to see the next day.

"He killed my father!" she cried, clutching his clothing tightly. "He made me watch. You don't know what it's like to watch your father killed right before your eyes."

Boba Fett paused a moment and turned slowly. Jessa slowly released the back of his tunic and waited, looking up at him with wide, expressive eyes. A scar that trailed from the bottom of his ear to the side of his mouth wrinkled slightly as he frowned, turning the white, indented skin whiter.

"He killed your father?"

"Yes," told him earnestly.

"Why?"

"My brother and his daughter ran away together. He took the dishonor of his family out on my father."

"And let you live?" he asked unconvinced. He saw her hesitate; her eyes moved a fraction of an inch downward, and then back to him.

"Yes," she answered.

"What is your name?"

"Jessa Reendor."

"I want half up front," he said and once again turned and began walking away. Jessa chased after him, thankful to be out of the stuffy cantina, and into the hot, fresh, night air.

"Thank you so much, sir," she replied and fumbled with her data pad.

"I am assuming, due to the payment and the fact that you did not go to the authorities, that he has fled?"

"Yes," Jessa replied. "Last I heard he went to Telos."

"What's his name?"

"Jax Lark."

"Where can I find you once I have finished the job?" he asked and Jessa shook her head.

"I want to come with you," she replied, struggling to keep up with his long strides.

"No," he answered simply.

"Then you don't get paid," she answered.

"Then Jax Lark doesn't get killed," he responded, stopping and turning toward her. She collided with his powerful chest and fell to the ground, her data pad flying into the sand beside her.

"I want to be there when it happens," she responded getting onto her knees and grabbing her data pad. She brushed some sand off of it, a sad little frown on her lips.

"I will bring him back then," Boba Fett replied. "But this isn't a field trip."

"I'm giving you my entire life savings. Everything I own. You cannot blame me for not entirely trusting you."

"If you want the job done, I go alone."

"Mr. Fett, please," she cried getting to her feet. "Surely the amount of money is worth it."

"No, it isn't," he replied and turned away from her. He was half way to the rooms he had rented when he realized that she was not going to give up. She pleaded and begged as she chased behind him, trying to reason with him, told him in detail how Jax Lark had slaughtered her father.

Decapitation.

A shiver almost ran through him as he remembered picking up his father's own severed head. How he struggled to remove it from his helmet. How long he cried over his father's dismembered body.

He knew there was something she was not telling him, but while she might be evasive, she was not dishonest and he knew she was too innocent and naïve to try and cheat him. But he certainly would not allow her on his ship while he hunted this murderer down. Still, what sympathy he had was stirred by her plight and as he got to the inn he was staying at he turned to face her one last time.

"Fine," he said evenly. "If you want to come so badly be at the ship yard, dock 4B-D, tomorrow at ten."

"Oh thank you!" she cried and in her excitement lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding onto him. She had t stand on her tip toes to reach him, and he was like a stone block, stiff and unmoving. Slowly she pulled away, a blush on her face.

"Sorry," she mumbled in embarrassment. He nodded and stepped inside without another word.

* * *

Boba Fett left as close to nine in the morning as he could. He did not wish to run the risk of Jessa Reendor coming early and spotting him before he could leave. He left a note with the dock's overseer, informing her that he would return to Tatooine when he had her man, and that he would leave word with the barkeep of the cantina they had met in. She should check in there every Thursday at noon for a message from him.

He was sure she would be angry, but he was going to take the job, without half the payment up front and return with him alive. That alone should be appreciated from a man like Boba Fett, and were the story of her father's death not so similar to his own, he would not even have done that.

Once he was in hyperspace, his destination set for Telos, he removed his helmet and leaned back in his seat. The girl had been attractive, and when she had first approached him he had hoped it was because she knew of his fame. A part of him was still pleased, because it was true, but he had been disappointed her mind had been on business and not pleasure. After nearly falling into the Sarlacc pit he was in a foul mood, and she was just his type. Young, petite, light brown hair and big brown eyes.

But there was something behind her eyes that he admired. It was a strength, a strength one only possessed when they had suffered, been torn down, and come out on top. He had seen it, and part of him knew that whatever it was she was not telling him, had to do with Lark's attack on _her. _It was another reason he had decided to take the job. He had a sneaking suspicion that the man had violated her in some way, and that, to Fett's mind, was one of the most egregious crimes a man could commit.

Still, he would never allow another, especially a woman, onto his ship. Not only would it be infuriating to have to share his personal space with another, it would be far too… tempting. He sometimes spent months on end in space, rarely setting down into port, and almost never fulfilling his sexual desires, of which, like any man, he had an abundance.

Once he double checked his hyperspeed points he stood and removed his gloves. It would be a few days before he reached Telos, and he wanted time to ease his aching muscles before then. Crawling back up that sand pit and avoiding all the stray blaster fire had not been easy and had taken a toll on his body.

He was just sitting down on his cot behind the cockpit when he heard something coming from the maintained crawlspace. He listened, his ears on high alert. There was quiet, and then another bump. For a moment he thought one of his bounties had gotten out of his cage in the cargo hold, but he had redeemed all his bounties before going to Jabba's Palace. Slowly he stood and grabbed a large dagger he had nearby. If he had a stowaway in the maintenance hatch, which he certainly did not think possible, he did not want to be shooting. Doing repairs mid flight was not something he normally enjoyed doing.

Holding the dagger tightly in his hand he slowly moved down the latter. Once on the second level he walked the three steps to the maintenance hatch. His left hand paused on the latch as he waited. After a few seconds he heard another small thud, the unmistakable sound of a human voice, and yanked the lid open.

* * *

Jessa felt like she was going to faint locked up in maintenance crawlspace. When she had tricked the rather idiotic dock overseer into letter her onto Boba Fett's ship she had thought this would be the best spot to hide until they were on Telos. It was large enough to stand in comfortably, and hidden and away from the cockpit. But the moment the engines had turned on it began to get very hot, and her hair stuck to her skin as she began to sweat. Every time she moved she banged against the heated metal, causing little superficial burns to pop up on her exposed skin.

She quickly discerned she would not be able to make it to Telos down there and decided to hold out as long as she could. If she popped up mid journey, Fett was less likely to send her back. She was relieved when the hatch was opened, and a rush of cool hair enveloped her damp, sweltering skin. That relief was short lived however, for seconds later she was painfully yanked from the crawlspace by her hair.

* * *

A/N: First Fanfiction! Please let me know what you think. I am trying to keep Boba Fett in character, and I think I have so far. He's not really a bad guy, but he's certainly not good either, so I am hoping that's what I am able to convey.

Reviews would be most welcome. Hope to update soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Warnings: Mention of rape

Jessa's hands instinctually went up to grip the wrist of the hand that was yanking her through the hatch by the hair in hopes of lessening the pain, but when she scrambled over the edge on her hands and knees, her scalp was on fire. The hand in her hair did not release her and instead tightened as she was dragged across the floor. Her body slowly began to cool down from the terrible heat of the engines, but the stinging of the small burns on her hands and arms were beginning to increase.

"You're hurting me!" she cried out as she was dragged across the floor, but she was not realized until her back was against the wall on the other side of the cramped room. She pulled her knees up to her chest in a defensive gesture and gently patted her scalp with her hands.

"I have a mind to shoot you out the garbage bay," he all but snapped, struggling to keep himself calm. Her eyes widened as she looked up at him.

"I am paying you a substantial amount of money. I think I am entitled –"

"Entitled?" he cut her off. "I am a bounty hunter not a tour guide. If your goal is to go gallivanting around the galaxy then you have come to the wrong place."

"I want to be involved in avenging my father," she replied with more confidence than she could feel. Boba Fett stood over her, in all his armor but his helmet, grieves and helmet. His face, masculine and rugged, marred by one large scar on the right side of his face, was obviously struggling not to twist into fury but she could see the anger behind his black eyes. For a fleeting moment she regretted sneaking onto his ship, but it passed the moment her beloved father's face popped into her head, the look of the light leaving his eyes. The look on his face as he watched her…

"You came to the wrong man, Miss Reendorr," he told her. "I am turning around and dropping you back on Tatooine. Find another bounty hunter for the job."

"No!" she screamed as he moved to climb the latter to the cockpit. She grabbed onto the fabric of the jumpsuit on his left arm. While she could do nothing to stop him if she really wanted to, her grip was an annoyance and he whirled on her, knocking her to the ground as a result. She had fell to the ground more out of fright than anything else, and Boba Fett moved onto the floor to straddle her.

She quickly flinched and on instinct swung her hands at him. He caught them with little exertion and held them down to her chest, reaching out for a nearby cable. He did not see the absolute terror in her eyes, and only wished to restrain her long enough to calm her down and get the ship's autopilot rerouted, but she let out such a terrible wail that he actually paused. She was clearly not a threat, and so he allowed himself a moment of pause to look down at her.

"Don't tie me up! Don't tie me up!" she screeched, tears now leaving her eyes. He could not think of comforting words for her, for he was not the type who knew how to offer comforting words, and instead watched in silence, his hands still tight around her wrists, as she tried to buck him off of her.

Slowly, he realized the unevenness of the skin around her wrists and when he moved his hand slightly he could see the tell tale scars of bonds being applied to tightly to human flesh. It looked like the scars Fett had seen on those who had been bound with wire for too long, mostly in underground, illegal slave trading organizations. They were recently healed, and she clearly had access to a good doctor, but the raised skin, the whiteness of the flesh, indicated a certain trauma that only time could heal.

After his examination he decided to release her hands and she scrambled away from him, pressing herself into a corner. She wrapped her arms around her legs, which she pressed tightly to her chest, and buried her head in her knees. He could see her shoulder's shake and her body tremble and every doubt that Boba Fett had fostered about Jax Lark's violation of Jessa Reendorr dissipated.

He remained still, watching her, trying to evaluate the situation as best he could. If word were to spread that he was travelling with a female companion it could damage his reputation. If people thought that one of his employers was overseeing his hunting, then that could damage his reputation. But he would be lying if he did not admit that he understood the girl's need to see this through till the end. He had no doubt, that if she were a pilot, or a shooter, or a swordsman, or a tracker, she would hunt the man down herself and kill him. But this girl, through no fault of her own, had been raised an aristocrat. As much as she wanted to be, she was not competent in matters of war.

Believing that she would not be moving from her spot in the corner any time soon, Fett turned and climbed the ladder, going to his supply closet. He wrestled with the idea of letting her stay, and as much as he tried to call on his anger at her for sneaking onto his ship, invading his privacy, and quite simply insulting him, he could not help but understand her motives.

Another flash sprung to his brain: his father's headless body, standing straight for the briefest of seconds, before colliding to the floor. He shook his head. No she could not stay. He would bring her to Telos and get her on the next barge home. If she did not accept those terms, then he would simply leave her there. Once he grabbed a blanket and a ration bar he descended the latter again. When he turned to approach her, she was looking up, her eyes red and puffy, her face tear stained.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and he nodded slowly, tossing her the blanket and the ration bar. She took them and, despite the heat from the crawlspace, realized the ship was quite cold. She wrapped herself the blanket and peeled open the bar slowly. He watched as she tried to hide the scars on her wrists and felt another pull at his chest. He decided he would inform her later of his plan to drop her off at Telos and have her sent back to Tatooine.

"I need to do this," she said after a few long moments of silence. Only the rattling of the hyperdrive could be heard. She looked up at him, her wet, shiny eyes locking on his. "I _need _it."

"It is not how I work," he replied simply. She sniffled and took a small bite of the bar. She grimaced at the taste but swallowed and took another bite.

"I'm offering you all I have," she said after a few moments. "Everything I own. It's so much money."

"You should have negotiated better," he replied and watched her lower lip tremble. With her right hand she gripped her left wrist, feeling the raised skin slowly.

"I could… if you wanted…"

"No," he said with a curt shake of his head. "I will not accept that as payment."

She nodded slowly. She did not think she could possibly go through with it anyway. Not after what had happened.

"Then it is hopeless," she whispered.

"How did you get on my ship?" he asked, changing the subject abruptly. Jessa looked up and then shrugged.

"The dockmen on Tatooine, especially in Mos Eisley, aren't that bright. I told them you had hired me for the trip," she answered him. Her voice was slightly hoarse and she was looking at the half eaten bar in her hand.

"Tell me exactly what happened," Fett said, bringing the conversation back to the bounty. Jessa hesitated a moment. She did not want to go into such painful memories if he was simply going to drop her off again, or now that she had angered him so, completely reject the case, in which case she did not think Jax Lark would ever be punished.

"I'd rather not," she said honestly. "I will tell you about my father, but that is it."

Boba Fett nodded.

"I told you most of it," she started. "My brother Luthor ran off with Lark's daughter. Lark was my father's business associate. He ordered my father pay for the money he would have gotten for his daughter –you know on Tatooine it is legal to sell your children into slavery, and Mira was only one of six – but my father refused. He…"

She trailed off and took a deep calming breath. Protectively she pulled the blanket tighter around her and looked at the ground, trying to keep the painful images from her head.

"He pulled a blaster before papa could react. He was shot in the side. Lark's oldest son… he held my father down so Lark could…"

Her eyes closed.

"And then they switched."

Fett felt a whole new brand of disgust toward this man.

"Afterward, they used a vibroblade to cut off his head," she said, hardly able to get the words out. Her face crumpled. "It wasn't fast. After that he sold all of his children but the oldest boy, and left the planet. When I got out of the hospital, I collected my inheritance, sold the family estate, and went in search of a capable bounty hunter. I had just arrived in Mos Eisely when word began to spread of your arrival."

"You must learn to defend yourself," he told her emotionlessly, outwardly unaffected by her tragic tale. She almost snorted.

"I will hire an instructor with all the money I have," she said bitterly and then jerked her head toward the maintenance hatch. "The data pad is in there. I dropped it when you tried to pull my hair out."

There was a moment of pause.

"I just want to feel like I did something. Not just hire someone to do it for me. I was so helpless, so out of control. I just want to feel like I am in charge of my own life."

Fett nodded slowly.

"I will bring you with me," he replied, to whose greater surprise he could not say. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with happiness and joy. She jumped to her feet, the blanket falling to the floor and tried to embrace him but he kept her an arm's length away. She blushed and took a small step back.

"Sorry. I like hugs," she said with a small smile. "Do you really mean it?"

"I do not go back on my word, and I give you my word I will bring you directly to Jax Lark," he vowed and he could see she was once again about to step closer to hug him, but held herself back.

"Mr. Fett, if you had any idea how much this means to me," she said and he gave her a curt nod.

"Are you tired?" he asked her, taking in her puffy eyes, and haggard features. She nodded slowly.

"Yes, I did not sleep well last night," she told him. "I knew you would be leaving without me."

"Or attempting to," he replied dryly and motioned to the ladder. She collected the blanket and the ration bar before ascending the latter, coming up to the cockpit. Fett was close behind her and motioned to the cot silently.

"Is this the only bed?" she asked sitting down on it. Once again, he nodded without a word. "I can't take it. I can sleep in the cargo hold or on the floor."

"You will sleep on the cot," he said and took a seat in the cockpit.

"Wake me up when you are tired," she said softly, settling on top of the covers, the blanket he had given her earlier draped over her. "We will take turns."

He would have smiled were he not so annoyed. He maintained it was not the girl herself that had him bending his usual rules. It was her story, the tragedy of it and the fact that he had never been able to avenge his own father's death. Images of his father continually flashed in his brain. He had not thought of his father for years now, only in brief, passing circumstances that he pushed to the back of his mind, but the moment Jessa told him her story in the cantina memories had come flooding back memories he had hoped to forget.

The fact that her person had suffered such a wrong on top of everything only increased his inclination to help her. Even damaged and grieving, he could see a sweetness and an innocence in her that he had never had a chance to possess. It was not in his genes. He leaned back in the chair, the soreness of his body suddenly coming back to him.

His mind once again went where it should not go. This was why having a woman on ship was always a bad idea. Jessa Reendorr, a girl that would normally be a conquest for Fett, was now completely and totally out of reach despite the fact that she lay just behind him, on the cot built into the far wall.

He could not touch her because she had been violated, and he would not take advantage of a frightened girl, nor run the risk of damaging further. Even if he did attempt to seduce her it was entirely probable she would submit solely because she felt she owed it to him for helping her. That in itself was enough to keep Fett away. But he had his own rules to live by. She was a client. It was beyond his professional (if not moral) code to sleep with her. But with her so close at hand, and his body so in need of some gentle, soothing hands…

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Perhaps when he was less exhausted and in less pain his brain would clear and he would be able to come at this from a far more professional light. He would not act until he could think things through and though he was now stuck with her until the business with Lark was finished, (he _had _given his word, something he would no doubt regret in a few hours) he could handle things better with a clear head.

With a sigh he tried to make himself comfortable in the pilots chair. Before too long, he had fallen off to sleep.

()

A/N: Trying to get into Fett's head a little bit, but that always involves running the risk of him being out of character. Feedback would be very much appreciated. I want him as in character as possible.

Happy reading!


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